Evidence in the numbers: Oman tourism growth in double digits

You don't have to just take our word for it: data shows Oman's tourism is exponentially on the rise.

The number of guests in four-and five-star category hotels has increased by 10.8 per cent to 614,000 in 2013, according to a report released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) here yesterday. [2]Also, there has been an 11 per cent growth in the revenue of four- and five-star category hotels across the Sultanate last year, over the previous year.The combined revenue of the 31 hotels included in the statistics stood 11 per cent higher at OMR149.3 million from OMR134.5 million in 2012. Five-star hotels registered a bigger portion of the revenue split with OMR102.2 million, while the four-star category recorded revenue of OMR47.1 million.The NCSI report [3]also revealed that the total number of star hotel guests increased by 10.8 per cent in 2013, with guest numbers totaling 614,000 against the 2012 figure of 554,000. Breaking down the guest profiles by region, European nationalities topped the list with 202,000 guests in 2013, recording an annual growth rate of 16.7 per cent when compared to the previous year's 173,000 guests who arrived from Europe. European, GCC guests

After European nationalities, Omani guests came in the second place, with 186,000 locals staying at these hotels (against 158,000 guests in 2012), registering an annual growth rate of 17.7 per cent. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens[4] came in the third place and their numbers recorded a growth of 14.6 per cent from 79,000 guests in 2012 to 90,000 guests in 2013. Hotel guests from Asian nationalities came fourth in the list. However, their numbers dropped by 5.5 per cent from 63,000 guests in 2012 to 60,000 in 2013. Americans followed in fifth place recording 27,000 guests in 2013 against the 2012 total of 26,000, registering an increase of 3 per cent.Arab nationalities

Other Arab nationalities (non-GCC citizens) [5]came in the sixth place with a 22.1 per cent growth in guest numbers in 2013, with guest numbers totaling 22,000 against the 2012 figure of 18,000. Four-and five-star hotel guests from Oceania came in the eighth place, with year-on-year guest numbers decreasing by 42.9 per cent with guest numbers decreasing from 13,000 in 2012 to 7,000 in 2013, while African guests also registered a significant drop of 12.8 per cent, with 4,000 guests recorded in 2013. Lastly, guests hailing from other nationalities recorded a fall of 18.4 per cent, registering 16,000 guests in 2013 against the 2012 total of 20,000. During 2013, five-star hotels recorded an overall occupancy rate of 60.6 per cent .